Mar 10 2016

Read All About It (Or Not): The Trouble with the Turkish Press

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Posted in: Media, Turkey

By Kate Cyr

Protest_against_2015_Koza_İpek_raid_(1)Istanbul’s 2013 Gezi Park protests unearthed muddy tales of corruption, bias, and authoritarianism that powerful conglomerates and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would have preferred buried indefinitely. The government received global scrutiny as anyone from students to grandmothers gathered in the streets to demonstrate against the AKP’s increasingly undemocratic actions, including silencing the press.

In the years since, the Syrian crisis, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strong-handed foreign policy, and religious issues have dominated coverage of Turkey abroad – leaving important issues like press freedom and related human rights violations once again shrouded in silence. Yet the political biases of Turkish media deserve scrutiny by Turkish and international audiences alike. Amidst the crises of the region, misreporting and bias convolutes the information reaching the public and can have very real implications for the understanding and response to various issues. The stories of daily paper Sabah and the press treatment of the Kurdish minority both offer warnings of the damage Turkey’s biased press machinery can cause.

Sabah, a daily newspaper founded in 1985, is telling of the complex and often hidden ways in which press freedom is stifled in Turkey – and just how deeply corporate and government meddling runs in the industry. After displeasing government officials in 2007, the paper was seized over an alleged misfiling of merger and acquisition paperwork six years before. The state sold the daily to a company owned by then-Prime Minister Erdoğan’s son-in-law using state-subsidized funds, allowing the government to effectively control Sabah’s content.

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Posted by: Posted on March 10, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , , , ,

Mar 4 2016

Argentina debt restructuring deal – 15 years too late!

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Posted in: Europe, Greece

By Kanad Bagchi

Argentine-flag-diveOn 28th February 2016, Argentina finally reached a settlement with the rest of its holdout creditors lead by Elliot Management in what is being hailed as ‘historic’ signalling the return of Argentina to international bond markets. While the pesky details of the settlement agreement are yet to be hammered out (at the time of writing), it is however known that in substance, Argentina has agreed to shell out a total of around $4.4 billion to the holdouts including Elliott Management, Aurelius Capital Management, Davidson Kempner and Bracebridge Capital. In sum, that represents a 25% write down of the original debt amount previously owed to the funds. While indeed, the present agreement unlocks Argentina’s financial leg room in the international capital market, thus providing a fillip to its already distressed economy, the agreement is also a manifestation of almost 15 years of desolate and futile negotiations, characterized by opportunity costs, derailed investments, scarce liquidity and immense deadweight losses leading to a general reduction in economic welfare. That apart, one wonders whether it is ethical or moral for a few set of private funds to arm-twist a sovereign into a contractual enforcement claim, that causes at best a deflection of governmental resources towards defending such claims and at worst, obstruction and hindrance in performing essential governmental functions. Moreover, in the present instance, there was every possibility that the deadlock would have continued unabated, lest for Judge Griesa’s unflinching stance towards a resolution. By indicating his disapproval for continuing with the ‘no pay-out’ injunction against Argentina, which had hitherto allowed a leverage to the holdouts in the negotiations, Judge Griesa tilted the balance in favour of Argentina, finally leading to the settlement.

Flashback to 2012 and readers will remember that Greece, during its debt restructuring phase, had similarly experienced a holdout situation characterized by a minority group of bondholders demanding for a full pay-out. It was indeed to avoid a long drawn court ligation, that Greece readily agreed to pay the holdouts in full (around €6billion), inviting criticism from various quarters for its compromising stance and for setting an undesirable precedent.

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Posted by: Posted on March 4, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Feb 25 2016

The International Politics of the Refugee Crisis

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Posted in: Europe, Greece, Migration, Turkey, Vassilis Paipais

By Vassilios Paipais

Refugees roaming Greece's central highways heading for the Greek borders

Refugees roaming Greece’s central highways heading for the Greek borders

Last Wednesday, Vienna hosted a meeting of Balkan countries involving Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia in divisive move that deliberately excluded the Greek government from decisions concerning the tackling of the mounting refugee crisis in Europe’s borders. On Monday, FYROM had already previously decided to deny entry to Afghan migrants and restricted access to Syrians and Iraqis. Greek authorities summoned the Austrian ambassador to protest against the Vienna meeting, which they described as a ‘unilateral move which is not at all friendly toward our country’. The day after the meeting, the Greek Prime Minister proclaimed that Greece will not be turned into a ‘warehouse of souls’ and just today, in an unprecedented move, he recalled the Greek ambassador in Vienna. In the meantime, the situation in Greece is rapidly spiraling out of hand. The images of desperate refugees roaming the Greek highways and heading for Greece’s northern borders are shocking suggesting that the situation might soon become unmanageable.

What Europe has witnessed the past few days on a diplomatic level is simply the first serious shocks of a long-brewing crisis that has its origins in a complicated series of diplomatic failures and mismanagement by some and deliberate war-mongering by others. Europe is paying a hard price for something she didn’t directly cause, yet nevertheless tolerated, as part of a ruthless geopolitical game that has its epicenter in the Syrian crisis and the broader Middle East antagonisms. The civil war in Syria broke out, and was portrayed as such by Western media, as a rebellion against the oppression and brutality of the Assad regime. What of course was never openly admitted (but is nevertheless a common secret) was that this is a war that some of the major players in the region -the US, Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia- not only welcomed but in varying degrees deliberately fomented in an effort to dismantle the Hezbollah-Syria-Iran axis due to which Israel paid a heavy price in the 2006 war in Lebanon. Russia’s active involvement in the conflict last October with the commencement of the bombing campaign was rightly perceived by many as an effort to tilt the balance in favour of the crumbling Assad regime. Yet, apart from restoring the internal dynamics of the conflict, it was also a move that served wider Russian objectives. The continuation of the Syrian civil war causes internal division among EU members as the flow of Syrian refugees wreaks havoc in the European borders and keeps Europe in disarray. EU’s weakening status as a diplomatic power is not a meager gain for Russia as it finds itself less pressured on the Ukrainian front and makes Europeans more pliable to Russian demands.

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Posted by: Posted on February 25, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , , , , ,

Feb 23 2016

A view from Europe’s borderland: As Europe vows stricter border controls, what’s at stake at the border?

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Posted in: Greece, Migration

By Myria Georgiou

Six months is a long time in politics and this includes humanitarian politics in Europe. ‘Refugees welcome here’ (#Refugeeswelcomehere) was a catchphrase reflecting widespread sentiments and political will in Europe last summer and early autumn – a warm welcome to the first waves of arrivals from war-torn zones. Few months later 20151030 Syrians and Iraq refugees arrive at Skala Sykamias Lesvos Greece 2and with Europe’s eastern neighbourhood no less torn, refugees are still arriving at Greek shores. Yet the politics of reception is now very different. In January, Greece was officially threatened with exclusion from EU’s Schengen zone for not properly safeguarding its borders. Only days earlier, European and Greek legislation made it possible to prosecute locals and volunteers who help refugees and migrants in the water and on arrival. Some, like a group of Greek activists in Chios, and another group of Spanish lifeguards and Muslim Danes helping refugees out of a stranded dinghy in Lesvos, have already been arrested facing charges of trafficking. Is Europe’s 2015 ecstatic humanitarianism a distant memory? As Europe’s current ‘migrant crisis’ enters a new phase, many complexities and contradictions in the politics that surround it become apparent. One of them, is the significant distance between what goes on at Europe’s borderland and point of refugee arrival, on the one hand, and the heart of Europe where decisions are being made, on the other. Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on February 23, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , ,

Feb 18 2016

Socio-Economic reflections on the Euro Zone

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Posted in: Euro, Europe, Greece

by Lucas Juan Manuel Alonso Alonso

1.Austerity Policy: Social Costs and Achievements

Is it possible for Europe’s Mediterranean countries—considering the current and projected economic growth—to pay interest and debt amortization and, if so, at which cost? It would be interesting to be given an honest answer to that key question.

European flag (5089126347) The EU implemented painful austerity measures to reduce the high level of government debt in many member states. But it was, and still is, a wrongly-conceived austerity plan. In fact, despite years of austerity, in various European Mediterranean countries—for example Greece, Portugal and Spain—the debt to GDP ratio has been going onto a firm upward trajectory creating a potential risk of default—the situation in Greece was, and still is, a good case in point.

In addition, austerity measures are likely to have contributed to:

  1. Higher unemployment rates or, at best, with only cyclical and insignificant downward variations
  2. Greater social inequalities [1]
  3. Greater tax burden on households, while multinational companies quoted on the stock market and great fortunes experience less fiscal pressure
  4. Drop in consumer spending—less purchasing power due to low wages and higher taxes
  5. Precarious and poorly-paid work
  6. Reduction of social security contributions—as a result of precarious/poorly-paid work and higher unemployment
  7. Drastic spending cuts in core government functions such as education, research and development, health, etc.

These negative effects, arising from the application of wrongly-conceived austerity measures [2], have led to the EU socio-economic stagnation. Therefore, what have the real successes of austerity policy been? Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on February 18, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Feb 11 2016

Between Presidential and Parliamentary elections – which way in the EU-Belarus relations?

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Posted in: Belarus

By Katarzyna Sobieraj

Given the numerous acute problems that the EU must face at the moment – the refugee crisis, the security situation after the recent terrorist attacks, a war in Ukraine, and the threat of Brexit – Belarus is not the highest priority on the EU agenda. However, the country’s current economic situation and the fact that it stands after the presidential elections (11th October 2015) and before the parliamentary ones (September 2016) opens a “window of opportunity” in EU relations with Belarus.

Belarus_europeIn August 2015, in an effort to improve relations with the EU, the authorities in Minsk fulfilled the EU’s main condition for resuming dialogue by releasing all political prisoners before the Presidential election. Yet, the release took place after the candidates’ registration deadline which made it impossible for the released to stand as candidates. This step, nevertheless, marked a certain opening in the EU–Belarus relations.

The presidential election was unsurprisingly won by the incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko with an overwhelming majority of votes (83.5 %). The OSCE ODIHR mission reported numerous shortcomings during the conduct of the election and gave it a rather negative overall evaluation:

“The 11 October election once again indicated that Belarus still has a considerable way to go in meeting its OSCE commitments for democratic elections. This underscores the need for the political will to engage in a comprehensive reform process. Some specific improvements and a welcoming attitude were noted. Significant problems, particularly during the counting of votes and tabulation of election results, undermined the integrity of the election. The campaign and election day were peaceful.”

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Posted by: Posted on February 11, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , , ,

Feb 9 2016

Has the EU failed us, or have we failed to forge a European identity?

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Posted in: EU ref, Euroscepticism, Nationalism, United Kingdom

By Marina Prentoulis

As a Greek citizen long resident in Britain, I cannot help noticing the almost complete absence of any sense of European identity in the UK. It seems that Britain has never really seen itself as part of Europe. Britain has never felt comfortable with the ‘Continent’- and, as the linguistic register suggests, what separates the two is much more than the few miles between Dover and Calais.

AnotherEuropeIsPossibleThe same distance is also true when it comes to the EU institutions. Britain has had a ‘special relationship’ with the EU for a long time, and Cameron’s negotiations have only served to re-affirm this desire to remain aloof. The key demands he has made – of staying out of an EU ‘superstate’ and refusing equal rights to EU migrants – are part of a long tradition of not joining in. There has been little enthusiasm in Britain for the ‘spirit’ of the Union, no desire for anything more than an instrumental relationship.

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Posted by: Posted on February 9, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , , , ,

Feb 5 2016

Modern slavery? The UK visa system and the exploitation of migrant domestic workers

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Posted in: United Kingdom

By Virginia Mantouvalou

It might be hard to believe that a domestic worker – or anyone – is currently forced to sleep on a bathroom floor or is locked up in a house. Yet such experiences are very real for those who come to the UK on an overseas domestic worker visa. The current system – which provides a six-month, non-renewable right to stay – does not allow such workers to change employers. Those who run away due to appalling experiences are thus unable to find a new job and become undocumented. Canging the visa system is the only way forward, if the UK is to treat everyone as human.
Heathrow_stampSince 2012 migrant domestic workers arrive in the UK under very restrictive visa conditions. The Overseas Domestic Worker visa does not permit them to change employer and ties them to the employer with whom they arrived for a non-renewable period of six months. Domestic workers, particularly when they live in the employers’ household, are a vulnerable group of workers. They are also often excluded from labour protective laws. The UK visa has been heavily criticised by many for creating further vulnerability, and has even been linked to slavery. Between 15,000 and 16,000 such visas are issued each year, according to the Home Office, which does not provide any further information on arrivals but produces data on the nationality of the employers. About 80 per cent come from a very small number of countries in the Middle East.

Last year I conducted an empirical study, a series of interviews with 24 migrant domestic workers who arrived in the UK on this visa. My aim was to find out how this vulnerable and difficult (for researchers) to reach group of workers experience the visa in practice. The workers interviewed recounted shocking stories of abuse and exploitation, fear and isolation.

I approached the interviewees through Kalayaan, the main non-governmental organisation specializing in the labour rights of domestic workers. I was introduced to them as a trustee of Kalayaan, and conducted the interviews in the offices of the organisation with the help of interpreters. The purpose of my study was not to find a representative sample or to produce quantitative analysis of the numbers of workers under the visa, which would be impossible in the case of this group.

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Posted by: Posted on February 5, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , ,

Jan 21 2016

Euroradio: from Warsaw for Belarus

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Posted in: Poland

By Lorenzo Berardi

It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon in December 2015 and many cars sporting Belarusian number plates are maneuvering their way in and out of the parking lot of Centrum Handlowy Marki, a shopping centre on the eastern outskirts of Warsaw. As there are only 200 kilometres separating the Polish capital from the border with Belarus this is hardly a surprising sight. The distance between Warsaw and Minsk is less than the one between the Polish capital and Berlin.

Both Poland and Belarus held presidential elections last year. In May 2015 Polish voters chose the then underdog candidate, Andrzej Duda, instead of backing the president in office, Bronisław Komorowski (an outcome confirmed by the following parliamentary elections). In October last year Belarusians voted en masse for their president running for his fifth term. Alexander Lukashenko has now been leading Belarus for twenty-one years in a row, winning the latest elections with a staggering 83.47% of the vote.

To the casual observer such a landslide victory may suggest that Belarus is a stable and united country, but in fact part of Lukashenko’s success lies in controlling the national media. So much so that today only the friendly voices of State-approved televisions, radios and newspapers can be read and heard in Belarus, with the only exceptions being a few independent websites and online newspapers.

No surprise then that neighbouring Poland hosts many independent Belarusian media organisations backed by international subjects and targeting the 9.5 million people living in Belarus as their main audience. A list of Belarusian ‘non-State’ media broadcasting from Poland includes the satellite television channel Belsat TV, the website of the Charter 97 organisation as well as radio stations such as Białystok based Radio Racyja and Warsaw based Eŭrapéjskaje Rádyjo dla Biełarúsi (European Radio for Belarus). Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on January 21, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , ,

Jan 14 2016

Understanding Euroscepticism: How British hostility to the EU contrasts with opposition elsewhere in Europe

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Posted in: Europe, Euroscepticism, Nationalism, United Kingdom

By  Montserrat Guibernau

The UK and the EU are both changing. The UK stands as a world power and, as such, it continues to look for recognition while maintaining a distinct identity and status, which includes a special relationship with the United States. In turn, the EU embraces a considerable number of nation states, which, so far, have been prepared to relinquish some aspects of their own jealously guarded sovereignty in order to benefit from membership of an economically prosperous and dynamic internal market, which has turned the EU into a phenomenally successful economic global player.

However, the depth of the economic crisis, exemplified by Greece, has brought instability and it seriously threatens the survival of the EU, as we know it. As a result, Euroscepticism, defined as criticism of the EU and opposition to the process of political European integration, is currently rising in both the UK and in the EU.

Yet, in some cases, nation states employ the EU as an excuse for action or inaction within the domestic arena and, at times, they even use it as a scapegoat, thus fuelling nationalism and reinforcing national identity. The variety of Euroscepticisms within the EU confirms the co-existence of different political cultures among EU member-states. At present, the economic crisis has contributed to highlighting the relevance of Euroscepticism in Britain and the EU.

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Posted by: Posted on January 14, 2016 by Eurocrisis in the Press   Tagged with: , , , ,